![]() ![]() Despite the conventional ending, which has a tacky, tacked-on feel, the movie is designed for those who are more adventurous when it comes to romance. The Lake House also has the odd distinction of raising metaphysical questions without boasting an overly intelligent storyline. ![]() Yet I recognize that the screenplay is like Swiss cheese - riddled with holes, some of which are bigger and more distracting than others. I appreciate that it's trying to do a supernatural love story without falling into the schmaltz of Ghost. By keeping the human element of the film more important than the fantastical one, they ground The Lake House and allow us to overlook many of its contrivances. The Lake House lives and dies based on Reeves and Bullock. Really, though, their roles are peripheral. Of course, since The Lake House is rated PG, their chemistry is more "cute" than "sexy." Christopher Plummer and Shoreh Aghdashloo have supporting roles (he as Alex's famous architect father she as Kate's boss at a Chicago hospital). ![]() The spark that ignited between them in Speed still burns - they make an appealing couple. The Lake House represents the reunion of Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, who were last seen discussing the potential future of a relationship that starts under tense circumstances. Such lapses by the screenplay are unforgivable. Secondly, Kate never does an Internet search for her would-be love. As a veteran of a long distance relationship, I can attest that pictures are the lifeblood of such interaction. ![]() First, despite all their correspondence, these two never send pictures. Two things in particular bothered me about this film, and neither had to do with its preposterous premise. The romance, which is delicately developed as these two people reach out across the years to each other, is effective, but there's almost too much baggage. Don't think too hard - you'll spoil the mood. If you choose to see The Lake House, you have to accept it as a fairy tale, time travel paradoxes and all. In for a penny, in for a pound, they say. For her part, Kate waits patiently for Alex to "catch up" to her. Eventually, seeking to meet his soulmate, Alex seeks out Kate's 2004 counterpart. The fact that their letters are traveling through time doesn't seem to bother them. They "meet" and begin exchanging correspondence via the house's mailbox. Both live in an extravagant, glass walled house on the shore of Lake Michigan - he in 2004 and she in 2006. The Lake House is about the unlikely love affair between two lonely people: Alex (Keanu Reeves) and Kate (Sandra Bullock). How many foreign films, when "translated" into English, find their endings mangled or made over in order to pander to "mainstream" sensibilities? (Ironically, the ending of Il Mare was criticized in some circles for being too upbeat, although apparently not upbeat enough for Warner Brothers, which remove all vestiges of ambiguity.) The final scene, however, is lifted not from the original but from the Hollywood shelf of cheap cop-outs. The Lake House is based on the 2000 South Korean film Il Mare, which I have not seen. And for those who attempt to apply logic to this movie, everything will come crashing down like a poorly balanced house of cards. Unfortunately, trying doesn't necessarily mean succeeding and, even for those who buy into the basic ideas, there are credibility gaps that The Lake House cannot surmount. As premises go, this has the virtue of uniqueness - Hollywood doesn't churn out time-traveling mailbox movies on a regular basis. Although this may amount to oversimplification, Alejandro Agresti's The Lake House is essentially a romance between two people connected by a time-traveling mailbox. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |